Yes Virginia, There Really IS A Silver Lining

Of all days, yesterday was not the day for one more thing to hit the fan, literally.
Busy as all get out at work, job bids due left and right, phone ringing off the hook, barely time to, well, visit my "aunt".

Then, when I finally get out of the office at 4pm, looking forward to getting home and putting my feet up, I'm driving home and my truck starts smelling hot. The temp gauge was normal but the battery gauge was low, then the temp gauge started dropping and the battery gauge started increasing. I was sitting in traffic, saw steam swirling in front of me but thought it was the exhaust from the truck in front of me. All this time I was smelling what I can only describe as burnt celery. The celery and hot smell stopped, or diminished, once traffic started moving again. I pulled over, looked around my truck, didn't see anything unsual so I continued on my journey home.

I must have driven another 3 miles when the hot odor came back. When I stopped for a red light, the steam swirling in front of me seemed to be originating from the sides of the hood, then the gauges started acting goofy again. I still had heat and nothing seemed to be drastically out of line so I kept on keeping on.

Another half mile or so and I'm sitting on the I55 overpass in traffic, waiting for the light to change. Then it hit me, along with the most horrible smell like burnt celery, along with the puffing steam coming out from under my hood. I was overheating! It's 16F with a windchill of almost zero, and I'm overheating! I didn't want to be the traffic report that has Weber
Rd backed up for miles because of a breakdown in the right lane on the 2-lane overpass, so I pulled off in the Gas City and called my husband. He came up there, opened the hood, and lo and behold, something had sprayed all over the engine compartment, most likely antifreeze. That was the burnt celery odor. I went into the Gas City to get antifreeze and water, and he refilled the radiator and drove my truck home while I drove his. Once home, he had more light and was able to determine that the water pump had blown a seal. (visualize $$$ flying away)

Now for the silver lining...We knew we had the pump replaced about 5 years ago while vacationing in St Louis. Upon looking through the book in the glovebox where we stashed all the repair and maintenance receipts and old user manuals for non-existent computer backup tape drives (don't ask LOL), the receipt for the water pump was no where to be found. Ok, so we would probably end up buying one as opposed to taking advantage of the lifetime warranty that was on this one.

Today he called the parts place in St Louis where we bought the water pump. Using our old cell phone number and the vehicle info, they were able to locate the original sale information. They gave my husband a number to call, and we are now getting a FREE replacement for the water pump. YIPPEE!! Now the only thing left to do is hope for warmer weather on Saturday so he can change it in the garage without freezing his patootie off. But my son and a friend of ours will try to acquire a small portable heater for the day so he has some heat in there.

All this after we just put close to $900 in the truck for front end work! But it's my baby, and even tho it's 10 years old, I still won't part with it.

I think I'll make cookies Saturday!

I Saw The Great Pumpkin!!

Halloween has always been an interesting time of year. The colors are changing, the air gets crisp, and the Great Pumpkin comes to life.

Today my family and I went to a local pumpkin patch for the afternoon. The name of it is Siegel's Cottonwood Farms, and it is in Crest Hill IL on Weber Road. This is an awesome place for families to spend an afternoon.

It was a beautiful day, a little cool but pleasant enough to spend the day walking among nature and all it has to offer.

I have been to other pumpkin patches but this one really has a lot of activities for haunters of all ages. There is a petting zoo, a hayrack ride, train ride, pony rides, two haunted houses, two corn mazes, and even a place where you can pan for gems or fossils.

We tried the gem search and found a couple of pretty good pieces of what appears to be quartz, carnelian, agate, and several smaller pieces of peridot and other stones that we haven't yet identified Oh yes, and plenty of "fools gold".

The hayrack ride was fun, lasting about a half hour and there is even a spot where you can get off and pick your own pumpkin.

The haunted house was a walking venture, with lots of scary scenes and noises. There is also another larger haunted house that we didn't get to since it doesn't open until 7pm. That's the Statesville Haunted Prison, named for the nearby prison. I'm not sure I have the guts to go thru that one tho.

There are a displays of farm animals: a mama cow and her calf, geese, chickens, ducks, and pigs. The ducks were interesting, especially the one that would "laugh" whenever I said "AFLAC" to it. There were about 6 in the cage but this one was the only one that reacted.

The farm has a website where you can see all the activities and times of operation.

http://www.ourpumpkinfarm.com/

No, I am not a paid advertiser, I just live in the area and finally found the time to go there. I am so glad we did. The pumpkin my son's girlfriend picked out is in my front window, and it's a real beauty. My son's is still on the kitchen table, he has an intricate design he plans on carving into it and said it will take him a day or two to complete.

This was a much better way to spend the day instead of sitting inside and playing on the computer or watching tv....or doing laundry hehehe.